Sometimes Fate Needs A Little Help
by Llew
Summary: Chandler went to the UCLA instead of NYU. Now he comes back to New York.


AN: After a few weeks absence from the Fanfiction community I'm back with my first standalone. And it's no Chandler-torture-fic. So bare with me if it's not good. ;) I swear I gave my best.

And for all the loyal readers of 'TOW The Lie': The next chapter is almost done and should be posted shortly.

DISCLAIMER: The characters are not mine.

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Chandler opened the door to his apartment and carelessly set his briefcase down on the table beside the black leather couch. He still wasn't used to living alone.

After he left his mothers house for college he had shared a room in the dorms with two other guys and following that he and a friend had rented a small two bed room apartment.

Respecting his mothers wishes he had attended the UCLA. During many restless nights he had sleeplessly been thinking about his future and what he wanted to do with his life. But when he still didn't know what he should do after graduating, he took a temp job as a data processor. Not really his idea of a fulfilling profession but it paid well and he seemed to have a talent as an office drone. Because not a year after he joined the company he was offered a promotion – on the condition that he relocated. As soon as he heard that he would be transferred to the New York bureau the only thing he wanted to know was how soon he could start working there.

He was born and raised in New York and it would always be home to him. The sunny California just wasn't his kind of place. So half a month later he was in the Big Apple searching for an affordable apartment. The first one, apartment 19 – his lucky number, that wasn't a total dump, came with a roommate. That wouldn't have bothered Chandler. But unfortunately the number didn't help. Chandler was just inspecting the rooms when his potential roommate got a call from his aunt. Apparently his cousin got it into his head that he wanted to become an actor and therefore wanted to move to the city. And since family came first, like the man put it, the room wasn't available any longer.

Chandler was really sad to hear that because he had a feeling that he would've enjoyed living there and he had liked the neighborhood. He had seen a small coffeehouse and a few other stores down the street. And the underground station was just a stone's throw down the block.

A few days later he finally found a residence. It wasn't as airy as the one with the number 19, the dark green color of the walls made it seem cramped and depressing. But it was right across the street from the other apartment. So Chandler at least lived in the nice neighborhood.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Chandler went to his bedroom to change into something cozier than his work clothes. Once he was in sweats and a t-shirt he grabbed a beer out of the refrigerator and sat down on his couch. It was time for his favorite evening activity. Right on the first day after he moved into the apartment he saw the most beautiful woman he ever laid eyes on. She lived in the building across the street. And he just couldn't resist the urge to watch her.

It wasn't like he was a stalker he used to say to himself. He just watched a few minutes so he would get the feeling that he knew her. Sometimes he saw her in the company of a tall dark haired man. At first he was worried that it was her boyfriend. Not that he thought he would ever have the guts to ask an angel like her out someday but he couldn't suppress the jealousy he felt. But after a few visits Chandler oversaw he came to the conclusion that the man had to be her brother. Chandler ignored the relief he felt after making that discovery and didn't scrutinize the possible feelings standing behind it.

That night it was one of Chandler's preferred scenarios. The woman was alone standing on her balcony absent-minded petting the cat she held in her arm, like always gazing dreamingly out over the city.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

A month later not much had changed in Chandler's life. He had settled into living on his own in his apartment after decorating it meeting his taste. Since it was his first home just for himself he could do what he wanted without having to respect other peoples opinions. The first thing he did was buying a foosball table. He always wanted to have one of those. It wasn't until after the table was delivered and put into place in his spare bedroom that Chandler realized he didn't really know anyone to play with.

The only people he had met till then were colleagues. And since he was the new head of his department the others just saw him as 'the boss' and didn't show any interest in including him into their after office lives. With his open and kind personality it had never been a problem for Chandler to make friends. So it was new to him to be as lonely as he was at that time.

The next morning he almost bumped into the object of his daily evening observations. She came out of the coffee shop just as he wanted to go in to grab his coffee before work.

She had smiled and looked right into his eyes before apologizing. Before Chandler could find any words she was already gone. Chandler couldn't stop the slight smile staying on his face the whole day. When he caught himself daydreaming about her during a meeting he knew he was in trouble. After that he spent the rest of the day in his office trying to figure out what it meant that one smile could affect him like that.

When he finally came to a conclusion it almost made him fall out of his chair. But after the thought came out of his deepest subconscious it burnt itself into his awareness and he couldn't get it out of his mind again. It was so simple but at the same time it was nearly impossible. Love? How could it be that he was in love after just seeing her, out of distance, for a few weeks?

He hadn't even changed a word with her. The rushed 'sorry' that morning she had directed at him was the closest the two of them had come to making conservation. So how could it be that Chandler Bing was in love? Sure, he had had his fair share of girlfriends and relationships during high school and college. But he didn't think he had ever been in love. And wasn't there a saying that if you weren't sure if you were in love than you weren't?

Following that revelation Chandler couldn't stay in his office any longer. He had to get out, walk around and get his head clear. Maybe the scaring notion would evaporate. But when he arrived home long after dawn it was still there nagging him.

He let himself plop down onto his sofa making an effort to not glance over at the apartment across the street. After three almost-looks where he stopped himself literally at the last second he decided to turn on the TV to distract him. He switched the channels a few times till he landed on the discovery channel presenting some documentation about shark attacks. What could get your mind better off of thinking about love than that? What he didn't take into account was his darned subconscious. Because as soon as he was engrossed in the show not really thinking about anything at all it took control over his body. And before he could do anything against it he was staring out to the big picture window he tried so hard to avoid.

But what he saw startled him almost as much as the exposure he made that afternoon.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

The possible love of his live was sobbing in the arms of her brother. And it nearly broke Chandler's heart to see her like that and not even knowing what the reason for her crying was or being able to do anything against her sorrow. All he knew was that he wanted to be there for her and that he couldn't.

He turned of the TV and all the lights and went over to his window. He couldn't take his eyes off the scene unfolding before him. His mind was working like crazy trying to come up with an explanation.

As far as he knew she didn't have a steady boyfriend. He had seen her getting ready for a few dates. But never had one of them made it into her apartment. So it couldn't be a breakup she was shedding tears over. He thought it might be the death of a relative but dismissed that possibility when he realized that her brother was comforting her. And although he looked a little upset it seemed to be rather out of loyalty to his sisters feelings than out of his own grief.

Chandler just couldn't come up with anything causing the sadness in the beautiful dark haired stranger. He saw that she had fallen asleep in her brother's arms because he laid her carefully down on the couch covering her with a blanket. He did what Chandler craved for to do. He consolatory kissed her on the forehead before leaving. Chandler stayed a little longer at his window looking up at the starless sky. He always thought it was sad that the city lights prevented the stars to be seen. As a kid he had spent some summers in a camp upstate and to that day he always connected a starry sky with the warm days of his youth. Without any worries and nothing but having fun while running, playing and swimming with his friends.

He was suddenly brought out of his memories when a small lamp sitting on the end table beside the couch in the apartment across the street got turned on. The woman wrapped the blanket around her shoulders before she made her way out onto the balcony. Like always she stood in her exact spot beside the fire escape and looked over the city.

And like a flash going through his body Chandler got his explanation. The Cat. She didn't have the cat in her arms like she always had while being on the terrace. And now that he thought about it he hadn't seen the animal yesterday either.

Now that Chandler knew what was bothering the girl he didn't feel any better. Because he still couldn't ease her pain.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

The next day on his way to work, he saw the woman putting up 'lost cat' flyers all over the neighborhood. After looking around to check if she was anywhere near him he pulled one flyer down and put it into his briefcase.

He spent half of his day at work starring at the picture of the cat on the yellow paper. The gracious black and white colored cat was sitting on the couch. Its shiny eyes were looking into the camera with an intelligent curiosity. Neatly underneath the photo were a handwritten phone number and a name. Monica Geller. Monica. In his mind he was forming a plan on how to get the cat back to its owner. So as soon as lunchtime came Chandler grabbed his coat and briefcase and left his office following his inspiration.

He reached his apartment two hours later carrying a paper bag. He took his shopping into the kitchen and opened one of the cans he had bought. He unclosed the window leading to the fire escape and put the can of cat food down on the sill. Then he pulled his armchair around and settled down for a long wait.

Three hours later, just as the sun was setting, he was pulled out of his musings by a big black cat that jumped onto his window ledge to dig into the provided foot. The smelly street cat looked half starved so Chandler let it eat all the food and got a new can after the cat was done and went on its way again.

This went on for several days. Chandler would spend as much time as possible trying to get the searched cat back. But the only cat that came was the shaggy street cat. It even began to look better after being fed a good meal every day. And after the fourth day, Chandler found the cat already waiting for him on the steal stairs attached to his building. But Chandler didn't give up. He always held his eyes open in hope that the black and white cat came to eat the food. Because every night he saw the object of his love, out on her balcony scanning the streets below now rather than gazing at the sky above the buildings. Just like him searching the little cat lost in the big city. And the sadness he could see in her posture kept him looking.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Another week later Chandler was on his way back home after buying some paint for his living room. Unexpectedly he saw one of the flyers in front of his feet and with a startled glance he saw that almost all of the flyers were torn down. And that strengthened his suspicion that he would never find the cat. And therefore he would never be able to give the woman her happiness back. He missed the smile she used to wear when she was cleaning her apartment or her animated face when she was passionately discussing something with her brother. Now her face always wore a frown.

Chandler just started painting one wall after overcastting the floor and his furniture with a plastic cover when he heard a tapping noise from the window. He turned around to see the black cat meowing to be fed. Chandler took pity on the poor animal and opened the window to feed it. He got the last can of cat food he had and realized that he would have to make a decision. Should he keep feeding the cat? Or should he try to find a new home for it? He knew he couldn't call the animal shelter because he couldn't bare the chance that the cat would be put to sleep. During the last weeks the cat had become more affectionate and visited him almost every evening. Not just to be fed but to join him on the couch to get petted as well.

Chandler was so deep in thought while painting the wall that he didn't notice the cat finishing the food and climbing into the apartment. Therefore he was startled when the cat strode through his legs and he almost dropped the brush. The rushed movement caused a big chunk of white paint to land on the cats head. The cat got scarred and ran to hide under Chandler's couch table. Chandler meanwhile tried not to burst out laughing. He didn't want to scare the poor thing anymore than it already was. But a thought crossed his mind when he saw the paint smeared cat peer out at him and the urge to laugh left him. His gaze moved to the worn paper lying on top of the table containing the picture of the runaway cat. He turned his look back onto the real cat as a smile formed on his face.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Monica sat up straight on her couch when she heard someone knock at her door. She looked at the clock over her TV and thought it was a little late for her brother to visit her. She thought it could be her new neighbor Joey who seemed like a nice guy. But she had a sneaking suspicion that he was mostly after her food since he always knocked to ask for the leftovers after she cooked something. But then she remembered that he and his cousin Kip went to a family reunion or something that weekend.

Slowly Monica made her way over to the door and looked through the peephole. She couldn't believe what she saw. Out of surprise she opened the door to the man standing there with a big smile on his face. She vaguely remembered seeing him before. Her eyes went down to one of her flyers he held clutched in one hand and then to the black cat splattered with white paint he held in his other arm.

Incredulous she looked back up into the amazingly blue eyes of the man before her. He was still smiling and she couldn't help but to smile back when she realized what he was trying to do. Her whole face lit up when the sadness of the past few weeks left her. And a weird feeling told her that she would never be sad again in her life. He wouldn't let that happen.

And they lived happily ever after.

The END

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Ok, this story is done. That means no long waiting for the next chapter. ;) And now that you've read it you surely have some opinion about my work. Any comments are welcome as long as they're constructive and about the story. All attacks at my personality will be taken seriously and will damage my self-confidence.


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